San Francisco’s real treat

8 comments

July 17, 10:42 PM

by , Fault Lines

 

 

That will explain how there were so many people lined up for a hearing of the Presidio Trust on the project this week, some passersby might have wondered if they were missing a hot ticket for a rock concert. Hundreds of people queued up 30 minutes in advance just to sign up to speak at the meeting, which lasted more than five hours so those with strong sentiments about Gap founder Don Fisher’s proposed 100,000-square-foot museum could weigh in on the proposal.

The general impression? Preservationists want the main post of the Presidio to pretty much remain as is. Neighborhood groups hate the thought of future traffic issues. Some folks are concerned about the displacement of a bowling alley and the Presidio YMCA. Art lovers see the museum as a glorious present to The City. And there are those who don’t like Fisher, corporations or change.

So could it be that San Francisco would look a $1 billion gift horse in mouth? As if you need to ask.

Although there were hundreds of people at the meeting who might disagree with me, I believe the Presidio is the perfect place for the museum. There is plenty of space within the park and it would go a long way toward helping the biggest urban national park meet its aim of gaining financial solvency in a few years.

The big question is whether its proposed location on the Main Post — and its potential of dwarfing the surrounding structures on the historic grounds — is the best place to build the contemporary museum that would house one of the world’s greatest private art collections in the world.

Moving the site seems to be the sticking point for members of the Presidio Trust, who probably got the only applause of the night when Executive Director Craig Middleton announced that the agency was going to extend the period for public comment until September.

City resident Samantha Dunn crystallized San Francisco’s latest cultural clash in one stirring sentence.

“How is it that a bowling alley is appropriate for the site, but a world-class art museum is not?” she said.

Controversy — the real San Francisco treat.

(COURTESY RENDERING)
NIMBY nation: Preservationists and neighborhood groups are opposed to the proposed art museum in the Presidio.

   Subscribe   Feed

Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use